WeatherData Services Inc. Moves to Expanded Severe Weather Center

WICHITA, KS, October 6, 2009 — WeatherData Services, Inc., an AccuWeather company, (www.weatherdata.com, www.accuweather.com) announced today that it has completed its move across downtown Wichita, KS, to new, state of the art, and much larger quarters in the Bank of America Center.

WeatherData specializes in weather-risk management consulting and state-of-the-art severe weather forecasting and services to utility, transportation, manufacturing, education, sports, retail and governmental clients throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The company serves six of the twelve largest manufacturing companies in the U.S., and over 80% of the Class One railway miles in North America are now protected by the company’s SkyGuard services.
The new quarters will allow WeatherData to expand its services in three important ways:

A facility designed for leading-edge severe weather forecasting. The new location draws heavily on the experience of WeatherData and parent company AccuWeather to implement a workflow that encompasses the lessons of decades of high-technology weather prediction. Very visible examples are the new, faster, custom-designed, three-screen forecaster workstations that allow the round-the-clock staff to process more data, more quickly.

• A facility designed for leading-edge severe weather forecasting. The new location draws heavily on the experience of WeatherData and parent company AccuWeather to implement a workflow that encompasses the lessons of decades of high-technology weather prediction. Very visible examples are the new, faster, custom-designed, three-screen forecaster workstations that allow the round-the-clock staff to process more data, more quickly.

• Communications built for the future. WeatherData meteorologists are constantly accessing the most complete and timely world-wide local data and radar to ensure the best forecasts possible. The new facility includes triple the connectivity bandwidth, compared to WeatherData’s former location, and a new state of the art data center designed for processing speed and future expansion. The new quarters will also allow WeatherData to launch video production related to severe weather.

• Enhanced availability during severe weather when clients need WeatherData the most. In the new facility, WeatherData has installed new and extended UPS and generator capability to allow it to operate almost indefinitely without commercial power. The new facility also includes hardened bunkers to protect the staff during severe weather.

“ ‘Protecting your business, protecting you’ is not just our mission statement here at WeatherData. It is also our passion,” said WeatherData CEO Mike Smith. “This move is an important step in our continuous efforts to further enhance our service to customers.”
Among the key products and services to be offered from the new facility are:

• SkyGuard®. A comprehensive, enterprise solution for weather risk management, the SkyGuard service aids businesses in optimizing their supply chain while simultaneously maximizing production time and employee safety. SkyGuard delivers highly-detailed site-specific forecast and warning information for each facility and for each rail or highway mile that is pertinent to a business’s operations and supply chain. Specializing in severe weather of all kinds, including tornadoes and hurricanes, WeatherData also monitors and advises on critical thresholds such as temperature, precipitation, wind or lightning strikes.

AccuWeather, Empowering You to Be the Best™, presents accurate, localized, branded forecasts and severe weather bulletins to over 125 million Americans each day via the Internet, mobile devices and IPTV, through the airwaves, and in print. The 113 meteorologists at AccuWeather deliver a portfolio of customized products and services to media, business, government, and institutions, and inform millions of visitors worldwide through the free AccuWeather.com website. AccuWeather also provides content onto more than 50,000 third-party Internet sites, including CNN Interactive, the ABC Owned Television Station Group, and washingtonpost.com. Visit www.accuweather.com for more information.